The general welfare state of the human being, namely physical, mental and social health, is what the World Health Organization defines as holistic health. It is a set of biological, emotional and spiritual factors that contribute to a state of balance in the individual. According to this definition, health is not only the absence of illness or disability but a condition of human development that each, as an individual, must care for and preserve.
Holistic health is an ideal state of well-being that can only be achieved when there is an appropriate balance between physical, emotional, spiritual, biological and social factors. In this way, the human being grows in all areas of life and, as a result, feels healthy and happy.
Despite the differences that exist between each human being, holistic health allows us to boost our capabilities as unique people. In fact, the individuality is one of the most important factors within the concept of holistic health. It is a matter of realizing that no one can compare to another person because each of us has grown in different circumstances, with more or less opportunities, different physical and emotional conditions, specific environmental factors and even access to unequal medicines and medical treatments.
Although every person, family, community or country gives health a different value, we all have a clear understanding that being healthy means feeling and looking good, acting well, being productive and relating properly with others.
At present, there are several problems which affect our overall health. At the physical-biological level, obesity, cardiovascular problems, diabetes and cancer are the main barriers to achieving a state of wellbeing. The addictions also detract from our physical and mental health. Smoking, alcoholism, drug addiction and obsessive compulsive dependencies are other obstacles. And the evils of the 21st century i.e. anxiety, depression, lack of adaptation to the environment, as well as other mental disorders, also directly affect our quality of life.
Most of the criticism focuses on the absolute of the whole word in relation to wellbeing, which would leave the majority almost always in bad health. Another problem observed is that population demographics and the nature of disease have undergone considerable changes. The disease patterns have changed and people living with chronic diseases are on the rise all over the world. The current norm is to grow old with chronic diseases, but you can change this concept by adopting the way of holistic health.
